So I got corrected today for expessing “I should have been...” in French as “je devrais être...” rather than “je aurait dû être...” Then we entered a discussion on how to translate “I should have been” into Latin and the other Romance languages. In English, the focus on “I should have been” is an obligation plus negation: “I should have been, which I was not.”
How is this expressed in Latin? “oportuit/oportebat me esse”? This appears to be a simple past of obligation, so I can’t imagine “oportuit me fuisse.” Will a subjunctive clause emphasize the aspect of negation as in “oportuit ut essem” or “oportet me fuisse”? Or should I just say “oportet me fuisse, sed non fui.”
How is this expressed in Spanish/Portuguese? My first sense was “debía/devia ser” or “debría/deveria ser” depending on the language, but either way I can’t get the “negation” part across.
How is this expressed in Latin? “oportuit/oportebat me esse”? This appears to be a simple past of obligation, so I can’t imagine “oportuit me fuisse.” Will a subjunctive clause emphasize the aspect of negation as in “oportuit ut essem” or “oportet me fuisse”? Or should I just say “oportet me fuisse, sed non fui.”
How is this expressed in Spanish/Portuguese? My first sense was “debía/devia ser” or “debría/deveria ser” depending on the language, but either way I can’t get the “negation” part across.